Friday 17 May 2013

MAYONNAISE MALAYS and BELACAN MALAYS.



   
To Anonymous, thank you for your comment  ( Whither the Malays? and Wither the Malays) which I reckon requires an airing as a posting.  Now and again I like to highlight an anonymous comment - especially when it is negative, and especially when it illuminates part of the problem.   This one is a good example of the rather smug half-baked thinking that bedevils so much of our country's political conversation, especially its 'cyber-conversation'.


I struggle to find  anything intelligible in what you wrote.  You seem to think that the election results reflect a generation gap, which (according to you) is best described in the form of music tastes.  Seems a bit simplistic to me.  If that's what you're saying, you make my point perfectly about a dumbed-down generation.

If your obsession with pop music is silly in this context, your rabbiting on about the British National Party (BNP) is equally (and more dangerously) stupid.     In particular, your attempt to characterize the Barisan Nasional as somehow akin to the BNP is a sick joke indeed.    Especially so, given the nature of the opposition in this country - a squalid amalgamation of Chinese chauvinists, Muslim fundamentalists and a mainly Malay  'Alternative Party'  led by a proxy of US neo-cons and Zionists, who's driven by the desire to lead the next Government in Putrajaya.
IZNOGOUD , a Comic character by  Goscinny and Tabary , 1978

You clearly know very little about the British National Party.  But at least the reference to it shows that you have read a few articles and can drop a few 'useful'  names.  But perhaps that's all you wanted to do.

There is no doubt that some? many? Malays, especially today's middle-aged middle class liberals have been spoilt  - compared to the Chinese and Indians in the same economic league - and they do not appreciate this fact.  They were hoisted and pushed and pampered as a result of UMNO's  NEP.  Now they live in 'gated' communities, in glorified terrace and semi-detached 'palaces', drive macho 4WDs and continental cars and in turn cosset their beautiful children.  My point is simple : too many of such Malays have forgotten who spoon-fed them, how they progressed on the backs of the Rakyat and how little they have ploughed back into the Malay community.

Some time ago I met this Malay post-grad student in Leicester and he said,  "From Form 1 in the Sekolah Asrama' to my first degree in the United States and a post-graduate degree in UK, it was the Government (the Rakyat) that spooned the rice into my mouth".  At least  he appreciated and recognized that privilege.

Your last paragraph is glib nonsense.  "The kids will be alright"??  Well, if this cut and paste Opposition is your blue print  for the future - to apply to all 'kids 'in this country - then heaven help them.  An uglier example of short term political opportunism would be hard to find - anywhere in the world.  But certainly YOUR kids will be alright.

This is not about a gap between generations, between cultural groupings.  This is a revival - with a vengeance  - of the British-made, pre-Merdeka gulf between the well-heeled, well-serviced  urbanites and the subsistence, hand-to-mouth  'Malayans'  on the urban fringes and in the boondocks.

Today, as for the Malays, it is the turn of the fat cats and the self-righteous in the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the People's Justice Party (PKR), and the Pan-Malaysian  Islamic Party (PAS) - each with their own agenda - to screw and manipulate the rights and security of others.

And by the way, it would be the liberal and right thing to do - especially given the nature of your comment - to have the courage of your convictions, and to give us your proper name, the name that your parents gave you.



BUTA HURUF DAN BUTA AKAL.






17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Even though I'm now living/working in the UK I'll always remember and thankful to the "Government (the Rakyat) that spooned the rice into my mouth".

anak si-hamid said...

Dear Anon May 17, 2.20 pm,

Thank you.

Hutang emas boleh di bayar. Hutang budi di bawa mati.

You maintain the sense of 'budi' that our parents taught us to uphold even though you're an 'anak dagang'. Your parents should be proud of you.

Anonymous said...

nhoesnsLove the title of your posting. In the old days people like this are called "orang putih pungkok hitam". Or mayonnaise in a black bottle?

Betullah Melayu mudah lupa!

AYAH

Anonymous said...

Auntie, Mayonnaise or belacan, Melayu has still to learn to be rich with grace lah. Stuck in the nouveau rich phase forever. You also forgot the religious factor. Am sorry, too much religion also spoils the broth. How to maju when a sector still live in the 7th century?? Grandpa and grandpa were correct when they took the middle way.Now we have just too many ular-maks delving into politics and the people's mind.

ninotaziz said...

Dear Madam,

Thank you for this posting. I have lived that life of privilege, and now try to give back to society in the little ways that we can. The ultimate aim was to improve our lives/standard of living so that we can live at par with fellow Malaysians and reduce the economic gap among the people. Surely the idea was to ensure there will be better integration and true unity.

So yes, the Gen X experienced greater unity. But then, somehow, guilt set in for all this privilege that the Gen X and Y turned upon the system itself. When we fail to understand and acknowledge the reasons why certain policies were implemented in the first place, selective amnesia comes into play.

So I cringe when my closest friends forget the spoon. I would tell them otherwise, if I'd thought they'd listen. So I leave it to Allah to open their hearts. Someday.

Anonymous said...

I will always remember the spoon that fed me. I am one of the guilty ones - gated community, private schooling for kids, continental cars.. All made possible by umno NEP. Not that I did not deserve it academically. I now hold a high ranking managerial position in a multinational company and I try very hard to create that same opportunities to the deserving Malays out there. I whatever little way i can

Anonymous said...

I think we Malays especially the young ones should really understand not only the HISTORY of our country but also the CURRENT SITUATION especially in terms of our ECONOMIC and EDUCATIONAL achievements in our multi-racial country. Having done that I think we will appreciate why certain policies are adopted by the Government. We do not have to be economists and social scientists to realise that the 67% Malays are relatively poor and under educated. I think almost everyone of us in the country has benefitted from the various ECONOMIC and EDUCATIONAL policies of the Government in one way or another however little.

In fact I cannot see any other way to address the problems of the Malays and other Bumiputeras. To do otherwise is to leave the Malays at the mercy of the new world order. We see this in North and South America, Australia, Fiji and other Third World countries where by the selective use of the slogan Human Rights, Freedom of Speech, Meritocracy etc. the original people are swarmed to helplessness and despair and in some cases to extinction.

Another point I should make is to ask the Malays and indeed all Malaysians to read and to understand the CONSTITUTION of our country just like what we should with the holy QURAN. By the way the Malays as defined in the Constitution are NOT ethnic Malays. The common and bonding factor is the religion of Islam and the cultural characteristics of ethnic Malays.

It seems to me people who are dead against the Government are in fact really against UMNO who form the backbone of the Government. This is because UMNO the party of the Malays is the only political party in this multi racial country of ours who profess to protect the interest of the Malays and other Bumiputeras within the confines of what was mentioned earlier. I dare say no other political party in the country has that objective. Kill off UMNO then the Malays will be disunited and disintegrated. If that happens then Malaysia will be another victim of the new world order. Whither the Malays?

Salam to all.

Anonymous said...

Kak Maznnor,
Thanks for this beautiful reply to anonymous.
Nak copy to my blog. Bolehkan?
Karim

Juhaidi said...

There is a saying: "Siapa termakan cili akan rasa pedasnya".

Your reaction to that Anonymous is an apt example of that saying. His comment may be a little too blunt for a person your age, but I do agree with some of his points. There is a disconnect between the young and old when it comes to political opinions. Many of my peers had voted opposition in the recent election. Before we merely write them off as rich/middle class ingrates, keep in mind that many are in working class, low income suburbs.

anak si-hamid said...

Dear Juhaidi,

Thank you for your comment.

Maybe the proverb you quoted could also be applied to those younger than me - hence the petulance and protestations.

I have had more bluntness, arrogance and rudeness thrown at me (when I was younger)than you have had hot dinners! And I'm still here to put down glib, half-baked tantrums.

There will always be a "disconnect between the young and the old". That's not rocket science.

I agree that not all Malays who voted like you are "well-heeled and well-serviced" Malays, ingrates or not. A lot of poor Malays and poor non-Malays also voted for BN.

If you believe a nest of chauvinists, fundamentalists and Malay turks; whose primary objective is 'Change', that's your prerogative.

I have a wider concern as can be read in Paras 8 and 9 than your smarting about middle class Malay ingrates.

I fear because of this you (and the Anon you agreed with) have not been able to fathom that in my postings; ingrates, cankers and worms, and 'bangsat' apply across the board to some(hopefully), or many (regrettably) of my bangsa Melayu. And because I am a Malay and concerned about the future of my tanah air I shall keep on harking on that. Better me than another bangsa throwing that in your face - but don't they do that anyway?

So you can see from my reply that despite my age I'm not too ga ga to retort. If you reckon that I'm too old and doddery to cope, well, that's not a good reflection on you either.

I'm sure someone like you can find better ways to make a point than using the cheap shot of age. Really!! Grow up, sayang!

Anonymous said...

Salam Puan ASH,

Wow! You certainly can kick ass. Good on yer. I'd hate to be at the receiving end of your "lecture".

I was born in the early 80s, so demographically speaking I'm still "young". And I think the younger generation need to have a teacher like you.
"Better me than another bangsa throwing that in your face - but don't they do that anyway?" Zinger!


Salam and respect from
Ribut

anak si-hamid said...

My deep apologies for not replying to the earlier comments. Here goes, better late than never.

Dear AYAH,

In the old days we had the wog or the 'orang puti celup'. Today our people want to be more Arab than the Arabs or whiter than white. Alas we have forgotten or discarded the fact that city suit or jubah, we are still Malays.

I was on a train from Bombay to Madras and there was this family of Indians who were now Americans. I overheard their son saying, "Daddy I want western toilet, I don't want Indian toilet". Maybe we're not too far from that?

Dear Anon May 17 11.12 pm,

Thank you. I especially like your statement of "being rich with grace". I take your point about my failing to take in the religious factor. Politics and religion will always be intertwined even in the Christian West where they are in a state of denial about this.

The middle way - the balance between the secular and the religious is a difficult road to tread - but it can be done as your parents and mine have shown.

Right now, just looking at what's going on in the Muslim Middle East, where even the strictly religious establishment are willing to co-habit with American/Zionist imperialism, what answers can out Ulama give. And when they decided to dance with the DAP, it's time for Muslims to question and doubt their motives. Still, we can''t throw out the baby with the bathwater, if only, if only, they will remember where they come from.

I cannot think of any race in the world that is as schizoid as our people. Perhaps it's better than to be cooked into a soup in the same pot - what liberals vaunt as integration.


Thank you ninotaiz for your thoughtful comment. I know how you feel when you have to "cringe". I have been doing that since post-1969 in Singapore where I grew up and worked, Brunei, and especially in UK - defending Malay rights and the NEP. But it looks like it had been a waste of time.



Thank you to Anon of May 18 8.54am.

Bless you for extending a helping hand to the 'deserving'- a caveat I thoroughly agree with because we have not been discriminating enough in the NEP - it has become 'seperti menyiram air di daun keladi'. Malays like you are in short supply and with your example, I hope this will catch on with the next generation too.

May 18, 6.32 pm,

Thank you. Your sharp and wise comment is very much appreciated - to help others, including me, to understand the relevant parts of the Constitution and the reasons behind the NEP. Indeed a lesson in History ( a subject I hated) and Economics, as you suggested, is as important as IT and Business Studies. BUT, what are they teaching in our schools and Institutions of Higher Learning?

Read and learn or perish.



Dear akarimomar,

Thank you for the comment. I hope you have seen my consent in my reply to your email. Happy to be of use.

anak si-hamid said...

Salam and thank you Ribut,

My father brought me up to be "tiada gentar membela diri".

The spouse thinks I make a good rotweiler grrrrr.

But you and others who turn up here have the same fire to protect and defend.

Now that I know how young you are, I think it's time for you to get to bed with a mug of milo and an Iznogoud comic!

ps. The Brits have another term: "get them by the short and curly"!

sir cipan nougat-tenuk said...

Dear Sister,
Thank you for continuing to fight the good fight. If you end up not being able to change the people, keep on fighting so that they can't change you.
Having reached my fifties, I find myself sharing the same concerns as yours.
While some Malays are obviously the "lupa cawat" types, I also believe a good many are being manipulated by the slick sloganeering by masters of deception.
The trick is devilishly simple - shout "Thief!" and point. You will immediately cast someone as the bad guy while projecting the image that you are a brave and feisty defender of right - even of you are actually the High Lord of the Forty Master Thieves of Baghdad.
Funny how this trick has survived for so long since its birth in ancient times.
Salaaam

anak si-hamid said...

Thank you sir cipan nougat tenuk for your comment. Apologies for my tardiness in replying.

You are very precise in your analysis. The one who points the finger first will always be right.

But as you say "keep on fighting so that they can't change you " True, true .

Salam and thank you again.

Anonymous said...

Having marked many an essay in my time, there's usually a point at which one stops reading and mentally consigns the student to the well-deserved "F".

"...led by a proxy of US neo-cons and Zionists" earned you yours.

(Congratulations might seem rather inapposite.)

Though purely as a piece of laughable hysteria, it's at least a B+.

anak si-hamid said...

Thank you 5 Jan 2015,

Congratulations! At least you managed to get that far.